UK terror bill to become law after Lords cave on 'glorification' offense

[JURIST] The UK Terrorism Bill [text; JURIST news archive] is set to become law after the House of Lords Wednesday backed down on its objection to a controversial provision criminalizing the "glorification" of terrorism. The legislation, introduced in the wake of the July 7 London bombings [JURIST news archive], had gone back and forth between the two chambers six times, with the Lords insisting on two previous occasions - the last [JURIST report] in late February - that the glorification offense was too vague and threatened too much of an infringement on free expression. This time, however, the Lords voted 172-60 to reject a Liberal Democrat amendment that would have struck the term from the House of Commons text yet again.

Home Secretary Charles Clarke has committed to reconsidering the terrorism measures [JURIST report] next year, although it is not entirely clear whether the government sees such consideration as a potential opportunity to decrease or increase the severity of the law. The current legislation also includes a provision for up to 28 days detention without trial for terrorism suspects, the longest allowed in all western European countries. The Telegraph has more. BBC News provides additional coverage.

About Paper Chase

Paper Chase is JURIST's real-time legal news service, powered by a team of 30 law student reporters and editors led by law professor Bernard Hibbitts at the University of Pittsburgh School of Law. As an educational service, Paper Chase is dedicated to presenting important legal news and materials rapidly, objectively and intelligibly in an accessible format.